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Racial and ethnic disparities are still a challenge for patients in the U.S. health care system, according to a paper released this week by the American College of Physicians.

The paper – an update to a policy paper originally released in 2003 – outlines recommendations on how to close the gap between racial or ethnic minority patients and those of Caucasian descent.

“Closing the health care disparities gap will be a difficult, multifaceted, and important task,” stated J. Fred Ralston, Jr., MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), in a release. “Overwhelming evidence shows that racial and ethnic minorities continue to be prone to poorer quality health care than white Americans, even when factors such as insurance status are controlled.”

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Responding to change

The ACP’s recommendations include a call for all legal residents to be provided with affordable health insurance. This is in line with their further assertion that “all patients, regardless of race, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, primary language, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, cultural background, age, disability or religion deserve high-quality health care.”

As society becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, the ACP noted, physicians and other health care professionals need to acknowledge the cultural, informational and linguistic needs of their patients as well as understand that sensitivity to the issue is necessary in reducing or eliminating the current disparities.

A reform of the health care delivery system was also called for, as well as more diversity in the health care workforce.

More research needed

Other targets included education, housing, job security and environmental health – all of which the ACP claimed still contain “inequities” that must be addressed.

The ACP also stated a need for more research and data collection related to racial and ethnic health disparities, which, it cited, are necessary to empower stakeholders to better understand and address the issue.

“Racial and ethnic disparities in health care present a difficult challenge that results from the interaction of multiple complex factors, for which there are no easy solutions,” Ralston stated in the release. “However we as physicians, and as a society, have a moral imperative that appropriate resources are devoted to responding to the challenge.”

Reference:

http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/access/racial_disparities.pdf